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Project

Isolation of pectin from the cell wall of plant-based side streams using conventional and innovative extraction technologies

In the frame of circular economy and bio-based thinking, increased attention is given towards the valorization of food waste, preferably by producing new products/ingredients thereof with high added value. In this context, the doctoral project will investigate different sequences of unit operations to stabilize and disrupt plant-based biomass to have an optimal extraction yield of cell wall polysaccharides with a proper technological functionality and stability. As disruption techniques, the project will focus on physical based techniques (being pressurized hot water extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction and microwave-assisted extraction), biochemical pretreatments (being enzyme assisted extraction) and combinations thereof. As biomass, three different waste streams have been identified, being carrot pomace, broccoli stems and pumpkin pomace. Insight  in the cellular organization of the biomass, and combination of different unit operations to disrupt the biomass will be applied to extract cell wall polysaccharides which will be tested for desired functionality in various food applications. The use as food texturizer, for pectin extracts and pectin-depleted fractions, or emulsion stabilizer, for pectin extracts, will be evaluated. To gain further insight into the functionality, a structural molecular characterization will be performed.

Date:15 Nov 2019 →  15 Nov 2023
Keywords:Pectin extraction, Novel pectin extraction technologies, Valorization of food waste
Disciplines:Food technology
Project type:PhD project